Law enforcement agencies in the Western Cape, including the City of Cape Town, have reported a troubling rise in crimes involving replica and modified firearms. Over the past year, authorities have seized several of these imitation weapons.

Anti-gang unit boss Thembisile Patekile declared his growing concern over their use in criminal activities, and has called for stricter regulation. SAPS have lobbied local officials to amend public bylaws, aiming to make it a criminal offence to carry imitation guns in public.

This push for legislative reform seeks to curb the dangers posed by these look-alike firearms, which are increasingly being used to evade existing gun control laws, or used for intimidation, both defensive and offensive, by members of the public unable to obtain real firearms.

But gun rights activists suggest that this push for legislative controls is both unnecessary, and poorly thought-through, given that a modified replica capable of being used to fire potentially lethal projectiles would still constitute an illegal firearm under current laws.

Self-defence rights activist Gideon Joubert of Paratus offered criticism of the new proposal: "What constitutes a “replica gun”? An ocean of potential problems with poorly defined terms like this. Does it include moulds used by holster manufacturers? Rubber “Blue Guns” used by self-defence trainers? Airsoft guns and paintball markers? Toys? Models? BB guns or air rifles? Depending on how the authorities decide to tread down this path, it can potentially criminalise millions of unsuspecting people for no good reason. I also fail to understand what benefits such a ban will bring. It’s certainly not going to improve policing, which is a key issue."